Exchange Club hears why UAS will be an economic boon for the valley

As the Cal UAS Portal research team at Inyokern Airport continues to steam ahead with a proposal to secure the region as one of six possible Federal Aviation Administration test and research sites, another team is taking point in raising funds for the proposal project.

As the Cal UAS Portal research team at Inyokern Airport continues to steam ahead with a proposal to secure the region as one of six possible Federal Aviation Administration test and research sites, another team is taking point in raising funds for the proposal project.

Kathy Vejtasa, a realtor with Coldwell Banker, pitched the case for how important being selected as a test site could be for the Indian Wells Valley.

“It would be a tremendous advantage to us,” she said.

The FAA released its request for proposal for test sites on Feb. 14 along with a set of hard deadlines ending May 6, and in the process opened the race for numerous agencies and groups in a bid to secure one of six test sites.

The proposal requirements include a list of team members and partners, member qualifications and a detailed study of terrain and environmental factors.

Those factors include desert, mountain and maritime environments as well as traffic congestion studies.

Congress directed the FAA in 2012 to begin the process for integrating unmanned aerial vehicles into the U.S. National Airspace System by 2015.

Eileen Shibley, Executive Director of China Lake Alliance, heads up the Cal UAS Portal proposal team out of the old Texas Instruments building at IYK, while Vejtasa is the point of contact for fundraising.

Vejtasa said some elements of the plan had changed, with the departure of one element and picking up others both regionally and nationally.

Vejtasa said one benefit Cal UAS Portal and Inyokern presents as a test site would be a diversified economy, and by extension less reliance on China Lake NAWS as the valley’s single largest employer.

“This may bring us down to 75 percent (of reliance on the base) because we will have other direct job vendors,” she said. “We need to bring more direct jobs here and FAA jobs are very compatible with this place.”

Vejtasa also mentioned Shibley had secured a memorandum of understanding from China Lake NAWS that would allow reciprocal use of test ranges.

The advantage aside from the prestige that came as being named a test site would include bringing new businesses to the valley.

“One business has said ‘If you get this, I am relocating my business to Inyokern,’” Vejtasa said.

However, Vejtasa declined to comment on which business.

She said Shibley was keeping things under wraps, should other UAS teams try to pursue the same companies Inyokern is hoping to woo.

Shibley confirmed the sensitive nature of the Cal UAS team members and partners on Thursday.

“We do have a variety of partners across the nation,” Shibley said. She declined to name specific members, however, citing pending finalized contracts.

Page 2 of 2 - Other benefits would include increased revenue for IYK, Inyokern’s community services district and Ridgecrest.

“I look at Inyokern Airport like this: It is a sleeping giant who would be competitive to any other airport,” Vejtasa said. “Inyokern is poised for new business.”

Vejtasa said the missing element was the valley’s residents, and the requirement for fundraising.

Local and state governments are throwing large resources into other research teams in a bid to secure a test site, while Inyokern and the Cal UAS Portal proposal team must be frugal with a budget.

“It is terrific what has to be done on that (the research),” she said.

Vejtasa said around $300,000 was needed to hire a review team and technical expertise to prepare the FAA submissions, for travel and marketing. Technical expertise accounts for $200,000, travel expenses to various partner teams at is estimated at $60,000 and marketing at $40,000.

She said any excess funds would go to rehabbing a hangar and was hoping to secure in-kind donations and volunteer efforts as well.

She said fundraising efforts have garnered a $25,000 donation, a $15,000 donation and several smaller donations in the week since the fundraising had begun.

“This could mean so much for the community,” she said.

For more information on Cal UAS Portal fundraising and support, contact Vejtasa at (760) 375-3855.